May 12, 2012

Less sliders for Sale

Sale will start Saturday night against Kansas City, but don’t look for his signature slider to be his dominant pitch. Part of the rehab for the pitcher will focus on throwing more fastballs and changeups. Those two pitches do not put any added strain on the elbow because they are thrown overhand with no added torque on the arm.

“I don’t think it is any different than it is for anyone else,” Sale said. “If you go out there and throw a lot of sliders it’s going to be harder on your elbow. We will have to back off that a little bit, but not for one second will I stop using it.”